Thursday, 29 January 2015

Banging the drum for beef and lamb

An impromptu visit from the England Supporters Band helped us make some
noise in France this week, showcasing beef and lamb to the French food trade at
SIRHA.

They dropped by while supporting chef Adam Bennett at the prestigious Bocuse
d’Or competition – staged at the event – and helped drum up some more interest
in what we were doing to highlight cuts of quality beef
and lamb to thousands of visitors. It capped a successful week which also
saw an EBLEX-backed team of butchers land the top award at the event’s butchery
competition.

Drumming up interest on our stand at SIRHA

SIRHA is the largest exhibition in France, which specialises in
foodservice. Held every two years, it attracts
chefs and professionals from the foodservice sector, as well as wholesalers and
food retailers from across France – essentially a ‘must’ for meat operators in
the country.

With France a key export market for our products, it’s a very important event
for us to attend. Our butcher-shop themed stand – coordinated by Rémi Fourrier
and his team in the AHDB office in Fontainebleau −provided the perfect platform
to showcase our innovative cuts and how best to cook them. It also gave
exporters the chance to discuss potential opportunities across the Channel.

Each day, top butcher and EBLEX trade marketing executive Martin Eccles
demonstrated new cuts of beef and lamb to visitors, illustrating how maximising
use of the carcase can benefit the entire supply chain. The new cuts lend
themselves particularly to what consumers in the French market are looking for,
with flat iron steaks and mini joints, among others, featuring.

EBLEX's Martin Eccles talking through cuts with visitors

There’s nothing like tasting the product though and EBLEX foodservice
project manager Hugh Judd was on hand to cook the cuts for visitors to taste
throughout the week’s proceedings. And judging by the number of people flocking
to the stand, it clearly hit the mark, with taste buds well and truly
tantalised for the duration of the event.

Of course, there’s also an important trade message to deliver. Martin
presented the French version of the Meat
Purchasing Guide with images, description and identification codes for
cuts, plus step-by-step instructions on how to prepare them.

All in all, SIRHA, like so many other key trade shows, provides us with
the shop window to showcase our beef and lamb to the widest possible audience.
Again, it proved to be a huge success with the trade and highlighted once again
why we have to keep banging the drum for beef and lamb on the global stage.